Chapter 6: A Good Day
At this stage, Li Qingsong had divided the 12 bodies he possessed into two shifts.
Two bodies were permanently stationed aboard the Deep Space Spaceship. This was to prevent a total wipeout from any accidents on the surface of Ceres. These two bodies also took on the task of studying, constantly searching for information in the Deep Space Spaceship’s database and learning without interruption.
These two bodies rested in alternation. Whenever one body fell asleep, Li Qingsong’s consciousness would transfer to the other, allowing him to continue studying and remain awake.
On the surface of Ceres, two of the ten Clones were designated as permanent Stokers, solely responsible for adding fuel to the steam engine.
Of course, they also rested in shifts. One Clone would work a 12-hour day, while the remaining 12 hours were used for sleeping, eating, using the toilet, and taking short breaks.
The two Clones could just barely manage the workload.
Of the remaining eight Clones, four were tasked with driving the planetary rover to find and extract minerals. They constantly brought back Oxygen Ore and Tolin ore for the steam engine. These four were also responsible for piloting the landing craft on supply runs between orbit and the surface.
Finally, that left only the last four Clones. Since they worked in shifts, only two Clones were working on constructing the facilities inside Base No. 1 at any given time.
This made Li Qingsong sigh to himself. ’The number of Clones is still too small. It’s nowhere near enough.’
But there was nothing to be done for now. Without enough food and energy, recklessly increasing the number of Clones would just mean they would all starve to death.
If progress was slow, then so be it. Li Qingsong could only calm himself and take things one step at a time.
After a full half-month of hard work, the planting racks inside Base No. 1 were finally, for the most part, assembled. The fluorescent lights salvaged from the Deep Space Spaceship were all installed on the racks as well.
There were two hundred lights in total, each with a power rating of fifty watts. Thus, the lights alone consumed ten kilowatt-hours of electricity every hour.
Adding in the power needed to charge the Space Suit batteries and the planetary rover, plus other occasional electrical demands, the total consumption immediately pushed the steam engine to its limit.
All told, even running at full power, the steam generator’s total output capacity was only 13 kilowatts.
’One step at a time.’
Li Qingsong thought, ’First, I’ll get Base No. 1 completely sorted out.’
The planting racks were set up, the fluorescent lights were shining, and the nutrient solution was prepared from powders ground by the milling machine.
The waste material from preparing the nutrient solution—small rocks and the like—was not discarded. Instead, Li Qingsong spread it evenly over the planting racks to serve as an anchor for the plants’ root systems.
A Clone carefully poured the nutrient-rich solution, essential for plant growth, into the trays. Meanwhile, another Clone, with equal care, planted sweet potato vines one by one into the anchoring material.
This task took another full day to complete. Only when he felt the Clone’s stomach was aching with extreme hunger did Li Qingsong direct it to grab something to eat.
Another Clone was hit with sharp stomach cramps and had to use the toilet first.
As for the feces it produced, that, of course, could not be discarded.
This waste was of great use to Li Qingsong.
It was rich in various organic matter and microorganisms necessary for plant growth, making it an indispensable ingredient for the nutrient solution.
During this time, Li Qingsong had been carefully collecting the feces from every single Clone, refusing to let even a little go to waste.
After finishing all this, Li Qingsong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The next step was to tend to the growing sweet potatoes daily and wait for them to mature.
Base No. 1 currently had a total area of 200 square meters. After accounting for essential facilities like the toilet, the nutrient solution mixing room, and necessary walkways, the remaining 160 square meters were all designated as a planting area.
The planting racks had four levels, bringing the total cultivation area to 640 square meters, just under a sixth of an acre.
Of these 640 square meters, Li Qingsong dedicated 600 of them to a specially cultivated type of sweet potato.
These sweet potatoes only needed three months to mature and had a high yield.
Experimental data from Earth showed that under ideal conditions, the maximum yield for this variety could reach 6,500 kilograms per *mu* (approximately 667 square meters).
But conditions on Ceres were crude, so Li Qingsong certainly couldn’t expect such a high yield. He estimated that he could achieve about seventy percent of the maximum, which would be around 4,500 kilograms per *mu*.
At that rate, he projected that each harvest from the 600 square meters of sweet potatoes would yield approximately 4,000 kilograms of produce.
With the current lack of meat, his 12 bodies—including his original one—would each need an average of about 3 kilograms of raw sweet potatoes a day as a staple food to maintain their stamina.
Of course, subsisting on sweet potatoes alone wouldn’t be enough. However, the Deep Space Spaceship still had reserves of other food and meat that could supplement their diet. Li Qingsong only planned to use sweet potatoes as a staple to reduce the consumption of his other supplies.
Thus, they would consume 36 kilograms of sweet potatoes a day, amounting to about 3,000 kilograms over three months.
This meant the output from Base No. 1 would not only cover their current consumption but also leave a surplus.
Moreover, the sweet potato leaves could be used as feed for pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese. Humans could even eat them as a vegetable, providing another food source.
In the remaining 40 square meters of planting area, Li Qingsong planted some oil-producing crops like peanuts and rapeseed. However, because the area was so small, their output would be minimal—just an extra supplement.
’Once this batch of sweet potatoes is harvested, my food reserves will be much more comfortable. Then I can start cultivating a new batch of Clones.’
Li Qingsong thought to himself, ’Then, I’ll build more bases, produce more food, and support more Clones.’
’Once the number of Clones is large enough, I can try to develop industry, starting slowly from scratch to advance our industrial and technological capabilities.’
Looking at the planting racks, still barren of crops, Li Qingsong’s 12 minds were filled with visions of the future.
Time passed as the Clones continuously studied, mined, transported materials, tended to the plants, and fueled the steam engine.
「Three months went by in a flash.」
During this period, Li Qingsong witnessed every stage of the sweet potatoes’ growth firsthand. He watched them sprout tender buds that grew into branches and leaves, saw the sparse vines gradually cover the planting racks, and observed the tubers slowly form at the roots, growing bigger and bigger.
Today was a good day. On this day, every Li Qingsong was jubilant, walking with a spring in his step.
Because the three months were up. Today was the day of the sweet potato harvest!